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Thursday, December 29, 2011

It seems as though an entire year of planning and anticipation crescendos into this long awaited Christmas, only to last one day and decrescendo entirely too fast.
If only it could be Christmas everyday.

While I am all for appreciating the little things, Christmas is the one time we intentionally appreciate the big things.
Like Jesus, amazing food, and our families.
It's a time to celebrate and be merry.
To love and to give.

And after having 20 Christmases of getting everything I ever wanted, from Santa and then my parents, I knew it was time to make sure my boy grew up the same way.
There's nothing more satisfying than his excitement for a new toy, even if he doesn't understand what's going on.

I always said that I would never be one of those child spoiling mothers, but how can you not want to give them the entire world?
How could you not want them to have everything you had, and more?

There are a lot of great things about my in-law family. Like the fact that we all get along really well, or how there are now 6 nieces, nephews, grandchildren, great-grandchildren. But one thing that I have come to expect and love, is how holidays and birthdays always last longer than their appointed days.
We keep celebrating long after the balloons have deflated, the cake is gone, and the presents are opened.

While all of your Christmases may have ended the day they began, mine is just starting to come to a close.
And now we're off to another baby huggin', game playin', food eatin' celebration.

Saturday, December 24, 2011

If you know me personally, or have been keeping up with me on here, than you know that I hate messes, and even more, I hate cleaning.
It's an oxymoronic relationship, and we're trying hard to work on our differences.
And it seems that the few times when I have busted out the vacuum or decided to do all 17 loads of laundry, the baby wants to be held, or wants to snuggle. Or he's just being so good and cute that I can't, for the life of me, let him sit there all by himself.
So I throw down the vacuum and put the clothes aside, and join my little man on the floor with his obnoxious amount of toys. Sure, maybe it's an excuse, but in my mind, it's a good one.
And you know what? When I look back on my life in 10 or 20 years, I won't be saying "Man, I should have spent more time cleaning, and cooking or baking."
I'll look back and I'll know that I tried my hardest to not miss a thing. I'll know that our messy rooms with baby toys in random places and clothes on every surface means that we have lived, and we have thrived, in this place I like to call our love shack.
It's where babies are made and raised. Where booboos are healed with kisses and spankings are dealt out accordingly.
Where messes and memories come as a package gift.

I know there are things in life that need to get done, whether we like it or not, and cleaning is one of them. And I will teach my kids that cleanliness and organization are important parts of life.
But when it comes down to it, a day trip to Disney World will always one upa messy house.

Of course, you could always get extremely lucky and marry someone who just so happens to be a master of speedy cleaning, and doesn't mind doing it, to boot.
So when it's the day before Christmas Eve, the room is in shambles, the laundry is exploding out of the bin, and the bathroom is a wreck, and he says "I got this," so you can go to the mall with your girlfriends, than you know God knew what he was doing when he picked out this guy for you.

Trying to clean with the escape artist was kinda of difficult anyways.

Every time I turned around, he made a mad dash for the door.
He finally settled with sitting in this corner of the house, watching the dogs play outside, for about 30 minutes. He was longing to be with them, running free and wild.
My not so little boy.

Tomorrow, he will open his presents from Santa, even though he has no idea how to open them or who Santa is. I like to start things off right, and it's never to early to keep a tradition.

Merry Christmas, everyone.
I hope your house is full of love, traditions, and eggnog.

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

I know that I've probably said this before, but it becomes truer everyday.

And I don't mean that he makes me late everywhere I go. We've got that down packed.

What I mean is how one week can make a world of a difference in his developmental skills.

He went from wanting to stand up and needing someone to hold him up, to pulling up on everything he can get his hands on and standing tall in what seems like one night.

And you can forget about holding him. He twists and squirms and wiggles his way right down to the floor so he can pull himself up some more.

Oh, and the dogs that were totally afraid of him before? They're best friends.

He pulls their hair, slaps their noses, grabs their legs while they walk by.

And if they come to sniff him, he opens his mouth. I have yet to get one of those dog-licking-the-inside-of-the-baby's-mouth pictures, but it's coming.

Nothing is safe anymore.

Speaking of safe things, the Sawgrass mall does not fall under that category.

I swear we left Florida and headed straight into Cuba/Puerto Rico/Mexico/China/Korea/England.

I seriously don't think I overheard one American conversation. And that's saying something, 'cause that place was packed.

Even the people who worked in the stores approached me speaking Spanish.

We left exhausted and pretty much empty handed.

But over the course of the next four days, I got everything on my shopping list. I was proud of myself for getting it all under the budget I had. And with that left over money, I'm hitting up the thrift stores and the fabric store.

So stick around because there is going to be a lot of sewing going on.

Only if you're interested, of course.

I know this was a short post, but I'm one tired mama.

Sick babies, doctor's visits and Christmas shopping make for a very busy day.

I hope you all got your shopping done, because it is seriously insane in the membrane out there.

If you do decide to brave the stores, don't be a follower and drive like a clown, like the rest of South Florida.

Thursday, December 15, 2011

Thank God it's almost Friday, right?
Friday's used to be nothing but another day, back when I was working as a server at Duffy's and Todd was working at ABC. I worked Wednesday through Sunday and he worked Tuesday through Saturday.
We had our weekends when everyone else was working, and sulked as we walked out of the door for work while everyone else was having their weekends.

But now, Friday's are golden.
Especially tomorrow, since I'm going shopping.
I feel like a kid the night before leaving for Disney World.
Anticipation, excitement, wonder.
Most of the wonder has to do with wondering how I am going to manage to actually shop since we are bringing the baby. I don't really have a choice since I'm still nursing. But it'll be an adventure, and I'm sure we'll talk about it years down the road..Remember that one time we went to the outlet malls and brought the baby? It was 9 days before Christmas, he hadn't had a nap all day, and you felt fat...
Memories, people, memories.

Speaking of memories...
I cannot tell you how much it makes my heart smile and leap to walk into the baby's room, to find this;

I couldn't find them, and they were being extra quiet, which is never a good thing.
But this time, it was a wonderful thing.
Thank God for that point and shoot.

He's a multi-tasker..

Those eyes get me everytime.

This one was just a quickie. I gotta get my beauty sleep and prepare for the day ahead of me.

I actually made a plan, on paper, of what I want to buy and where we need to go.

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Apparently in the land of motherhood, "tomorrow" really means "the day after tomorrow."
I had every intention of blogging yesterday, but sometimes intentions are just not enough.

Anyways, today was a pretty interesting day.
Another reality in the land of motherhood is that time means nothing.
So when Grace and I say that we want to go to a friend's, get some lunch, go to the mall, and be at Target by 5, and all of this gets pushed back by an hour, and the whole mall thing doesn't even really happen, I blame it all on the babies.
'Cause they ain't got no rhythm, and they ain't got no rhyme.
Those babies, they do things on their own time.

Oh, and apparently crying is contagious, because when Nico cries, so does Aubrey. Without fail.
Needless to say, the car ride was fun, and crying babies and poopy diapers in Dillard's is even better.
But all in all, it was a really good day. I love getting out of the house, especially to visit with mamas and their babies.

Now, may I present to you, my Goodwill rescue.
This is the before..

And this is the after!

Don't you just love a crappy point and shoot picture?

Seriously, isn't it amazing? All I did was chop off 6 inches, iron and hem it with a simple straight stitch.

And the best part is that it was 4 dollars.

Can't beat that.

Iknow a lot of the time it seems as though you have to spend a ton of money to get a good looking outfit, but the secrets in the thrift stores. Just kick your imagination into high gear and pick out the most grandma-lookin' thing you can find.

Okay, maybeit doesn't have to be the ugliest thing in the store, but there are tons of skirts like these just waiting to get some lovin'.

Don't know how to sew? Youtube, baby.

Don't have a sewing machine? That's what hands are for!

Just kidding.

But seriously, Craigslist, Ebay, thrift stores. It doesn't have to be super fancy and you don't have to invest a lot of money into it. Trust me, in the long run, you'll save yourself more than a buck.

Since my DSLR has decided to go missing, I had to bust out the point and shoot.

It took a little getting used to, what with it's point and shoot, easy breezy, picture taking.

I almost forgot what it's like to not have to worry about aperture and shutter speed.

Too bad they kinda suck just a little bit. But here's some for you to look at anyways.

Aubrey thinks it's time for him to stand, and anything he can get his hands on is a lifting tool.

He likes to bite, and he likes to crawl all over you and use your face as an anchor.

He makes my days very.. entertaining. ;)

Well, that's all I've got today.

Hopefully i'll actually be back tomorrow, but I'm not making any promises.

Monday, December 12, 2011

When I said it was going to be a busy week, I thought I would be exaggerating.
I knew I had a lot of stuff to do, and I know there were going to be quite a few things going on, but I did not expect it fly by without so much as a goodbye.
Like a thief in the night.
My birthday came and went, taking the magical number 20 with it, and bringing on the glitter party as it passed by.
What. A. Night.

But let me start at the beginning of my week. Monday was as normal as any Monday. Lazy, uneventful and relaxed. I spent most of the day preparing bags and papers for Aubrey's (minor) surgery the next day.
We had to be at the hospital at 6AM, and there was no way I was going to get up any earlier than necessary to pack the million things I might need for the baby.
I had no idea what time the actual surgery was scheduled for, and we ended up waiting about 2 and a half hours before they actually took him back.
Now, it wouldn't have usually been a big deal to wait, since Aubrey is seriously the best baby ever and can be content playing with the straps on my bag. However, I wasn't allowed to feed him when he woke up, and a hungry Aubrey means a very cranky Aubrey.
The nurses finally took him and I expected to see him about 90 minutes later.
They came and got me a little earlier, because he needed me.
He needed me.
The look on his face when I walked into the room will be forever seared into my memory.
His cheeks were soaked with tears, and his little eyes were almost swollen shut from crying so hard, but he reached out and grabbed onto my shirt, and held on for dear life.
I cuddled him, I nursed him, and I sang sweet little lullabies into his ear until he finally drifted to sleep.

The rest of the day was no different. He was groggy and cranky and wanted nothing but his momma.
He nursed twice as often as usual, and fell asleep in every position I put him in. We spent most of the day on the couch watching TV, and I swear to you I could have sat there every single day for the rest of our lives with him snuggled up against my chest.

And this realization came over me.
Yes, he's getting bigger and eating real food and going places without me, but he still needs me. He wants me to hold him more often now, and he notices when I walk out of a room, and when I come back.
He says ma-ma, and I'm not sure if he knows what it means or how he melts my heart with every syllable, but it's significant none-the-less.
And oh, how I miss him when I'm not with him.
His little buck tooth smile, and his floppy little ears.
I don't know how I was every happy before him.

The rest of the week was spent preparing for my party.
Yes, I made things way more complicated than they needed to be, and yes, I threw and decorated for my own party (with the help of Arielle, whom I can't thank enough!)
We took way too many pictures, and way too many shots, stayed up way too late, and didn't get nearly enough sleep.
But I think it was well worth it.
Once again, anyone who mattered came, and I was reminded why I have been friends with the same people my whole life.

The summits!

And the non-summits!

There are so many more pictures, but those will be put up on Facebook. Unfortunately I didn't think enough to take pictures of all the pretty decorations, but let's just say that there will forever be glitter everywhere, just as I anticipated.

It will be a constant reminder of the fun we had, and the people I got to share my monumental "first legal drink" with.

And I was honestly overwhelmed with the cards and gifts I received. Thank you, everyone!

I seriously love you all.

Now, I plan on spending the rest of this month in a state of relaxation and Christmas cheer.

Oh, and doing lots of shopping, of course.

And crafting.

And sewing.

Hey, it may not be your definition of relaxing, but it's the epitome of mine.

Right now, as I write, Todd is quietly drifting his way into dreamland. I think it's time I join him.

Tomorrow I will share the fabulous refashion finds I rescued from Goodwill.